Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2024 has just been announced and it has come as no surprise to us that two of our favourite Chinese restaurants – The Chairman and Wing Restaurant – has topped the list. The Chairman came in at No. 4, essentially making it the best restaurant in Hong Kong, with Wing nipping at its heels at No. 5.
It’s a great jump up the list for both restaurants: The Chairman was at No. 13 in 2023 while Wing was a new entry at No. 37. Restaurateur Danny Yip of The Chairman also received his Icon Award while Wing by chef Vicky Cheng took the Highest Climber Award for its 32-spot jump.
With so many premium Chinese/Cantonese restaurants in Hong Kong, it’s no easy task to emerge top of the pack. Both Wing and Chairman share many common traits – their adventurous spirit with their dishes, seasonal ingredients of superb quality and, of course, the chefs’ prowess in the kitchen (not to mention they’re also in the same building). Yet, their styles are very different; The Chairman is true blue Chinese style cooking while Cheng puts his French fine dining training to good use at Wing.
The Chairman
You’ll be really lucky to snag a table at this place unless you have some serious connections. The demand is insane—it’s fully booked three months in advance, and even now it’s booked solid until the end of June.
The old location at Kau U Fong had a charming rustic vibe, but towards the end, it started showing signs of wear and tear. Plus, the dining areas had this weird layout that wasn’t exactly comfy. I’m a bigger fan of their new spot in The Wellington. It’s a major upgrade. The service has gone up a notch, and the restaurant now reflects the owner’s eclectic taste in books and art.
They’ve simplified the menu too. They don’t have an à la carte option anymore, but their fixed dinner menu offers plenty of choices.If you manage to get a table, the restaurant contacts you on WhatsApp with the menu options. For the basic dinner menu, there are around 11 choices each for starters and seafood items, six meat choices, three veggie options, and five rice/noodle dishes. The soup and dessert will be decided by the house.
The basic menu at $1,280 + 10%, includes three starters, one seafood dish, two meat dishes, one veggie dish, and one rice or noodle dish. Extra entrées will set you back $80, seafood dishes costs $200, and additional meat dishes are $100 extra. All the extra costs are per person.
You absolutely can’t miss the house speciality — char siu starter. It’s ridiculously tender and juicy, one of the best in town. And if you’re into stinky tofu, their version is top-notch. Their crab dishes are to die for, especially the famous steamed flowery crab with aged Shaoxing wine, fragrant chicken oil, and flat rice noodles.
We also highly recommend their steamed grouper fish head with fermented chili (make sure to ask for dumplings with it!). During our recent visits, we discovered their amazing beef quartet in chili sour broth—a twist on the Sichuanese style—and the geoduck poached in rice broth.
If you’ve never been here before, mark your calendar and be ready to book for July to September. The slots open up at 9am sharp on May 1st, and it’ll definitely be worth your while to secure a spot.
The Chairman, 3/F The Wellington, 298 Wellington Street, Central. Reservations: www.thechairmangroup.com
Wing Restaurant
Chef Vicky Cheng has always been driven by his love for Chinese ingredients and influences. In 2015, he opened VEA restaurant a atop Wellington Place, offering a unique blend of French fine dining with local touches.
During the pandemic, Cheng had the opportunity to delve deeper into his Chinese heritage, which led him to open Wing Restaurant in 2021. Despite being a relatively young establishment, Wing has achieved remarkable success — a true testament to Cheng’s unwavering passion and exceptional skills.
If VEA is known as “French x Chinese” with a more Western presentation, then Wing embodies the concept of “Chinese x French”. The dishes at Wing have a traditional Chinese appearance but are prepared using Western techniques. This enables Cheng to create some of the city’s finest roasted chicken and pigeon, thanks to a meticulous dry-aging process. And let’s not forget about his unbelievably translucent century egg.
Wing offers two 12-course menus that change with the seasons, as Cheng loves to explore the local markets for the freshest ingredients available each day. The regular tasting menu is priced at $1,980 + 10%, while the premium menu, featuring luxurious ingredients like sea cucumber, lobster, roast pigeon/chicken, and bird’s nest, comes in at $2,980 + 10%.
Don’t let the lower price of the regular menu fool you—you’ll still enjoy delightful surprises, such as seasonal fish, fish maw, and Alaskan king crab. While we’re accustomed to the classic roast pigeon or chicken at traditional Cantonese restaurants, Cheng’s dry aging process seals in incredible flavours for his roasted meats. If you’re fortunate enough (as we were on one occasion), the roast goose will simply blow your mind.
The good news is that Wing accepts reservations up to 28 days in advance. As of now, there are still a few tables available for April. However, that situation can change rapidly, especially now that news of its impressive No. 5 ranking has spread.
Wing Restaurant, 29/F The Wellington, 298 Wellington Street. Reservations: https://wingrestaurant.hk/reserve
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Winnie Chung is an experienced lifestyle journalist who has covered everything from showbiz and Hong Kong films, to food, and all things luxury. After being grounded by the pandemic, she found a renewed appreciation for Hong Kong's vibrant and diverse dining scene.
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